BADGE 149 NEWSLETTER JULY 2018

Captain Gary P. Jones [retired] FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT 1967 - 1993 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, DIVISION OF INSURANCE FRAUD 1993 - 2003

JAPAN EXECUTES 7 TERRORISTS! July 6, 2018 (Friday) Japan executed Shoko Asahara, founder of the notoriously vicious Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. Cult members were responsible for the deadly Sarin attack in Tokyo's subway back in March of 1995. The attack, which killed 13 and injured 5,500 people, could have killed tens of thousands if it had been carried out correctly. In addition to Shoko Asahara, six other senior cult members were also executed.

Executions in Japan are carried out by hanging. Unlike the United States, Japan's use of the death penalty is carried out in secret. The date of the execution is kept secret and condemned prisoners are usually only given a few hours notice. The offender is only notified on the morning of his execution. It is also common for lawyers and family to be notified only after the execution has occurred.

Most prisoners in Japan wait for many years for their death sentence to eventually be carried out. Prisoners are kept in isolation, but they do apparently have access to a priest before they die. A strong majority of the Japanese people reportedly support the death penalty. The most recent survey, which is conducted every five years, showed that more than 80% support the death penalty, while only 9.7% don't. Around 10% said they didn't know if the death penalty should be abolished. For the third consecutive time support for the death penalty remained at above the 80% level. I know that not everyone here in America supports the death penalty, but I do. And, Thanks to Japan there are now seven less evil men in the world) 

ACTIVE SHOOTER INCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2016 AND 2017

The FBI has designated 50 shootings in 2016 and 2017 as active shooter incidents (20 incidents occurred in 2016, while 30 incidents occurred in 2017) These 50 incidents occurred in 21 different states. Texas had the most, with 6. California and Florida each had 5. Some of the major highlights from this 18 page FBI report are: * All 50 shooters were male and each acted alone. * As a result of these 50 active shooting incidents there were a total of 943 casualties (excluding the shooters). 221 individuals were killed and 722 were wounded. * 14 of these 50 incidents ended with the exchange of gunfire between the shooter and the police. 13 law enforcement officers were killed and another 20 were wounded. 18 shooters were apprehended by the police. 11 were killed by the police and another 13 shooters committed suicide. * 8 shooters were stopped by citizens. The FBI review stated, "Armed and unarmed citizens engaged the shooter in 10 incidents. They safely and successfully ended the shootings in eight of those incidents. Their selfless actions likely saved many lives." This FBI report is very detailed, interesting and informative. It contains a wealth of information about the 50 shooters, the locations involved, citizen engagements and casualties, etc. There is also a brief description of each of the 50 active shooter incidents. If you are interested in reading the entire 18-page report, it can be found at the following web site: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view

It is a fact that suicides involving retired military personnel, and law enforcement professionals, occur at a much higher rate than that of the general population. In my book I discuss suicide and the law enforcement profession.

In my book I also described my volunteer work with my local 2-1-1 crisis hotline, which also handled the Suicide Prevention Lifeline calls for the Tallahassee area. If you would like to help and make a difference you might want to volunteer with your local 2-1-1.

QUOTES WORTH REMEMBERING

"There are three kinds of people in the world. There are wolves and there are sheep. And then there are those who protect the sheep from the wolves."  Author Unknown

SOME GOOD BOOKS WORTH READING Every year I attend the Southeastern Writers Workshops at Epworth by the Sea, on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Unfortunately, this year I wasn't able to do so. However, one of the other individuals who did attend put together this list of books they wanted to eventually read. There are some very good books on this list and I'm honored that my book (Badge 149 - "Shots Fired!") was also included, too.

 If you have already purchased one of my two books, thank you! If you enjoyed the book(s) I would ask you to consider writing a short review of the book, either on Amazon or at my publisher's online bookstore. My publisher's online bookstore is at: www.buybooksontheweb.com (You can also just click on the "Book Review" Logo above) Go to the "True Crime" section to read the book reviews already there, or to make a new one. 

Gary P. Jones, Captain [retired] | Jones313@aol.com | www.badge149.com